Another Day, A Few More Christmas Gift Ideas

Remember the Christmas placemats I made the other day? Today I made a couple more, but these are non-Christmas placemats--with a little bit of a twist.

A couple of my creative friends were talking and one of them suggested adding a "pocket" for utensils, so that's what I did! In fact, I also made matching napkins and added ties, so the placemats could be rolled up.

And I made a picnic/lunch tote to carry them in. Cute, yes? I'm going to use the tote, though, as a purse for now, because I need one. My friend Yvonne made me a tote awhile back and I use it all the time, but it's quite summery and I needed a "winter" tote; black will never clash with my winter clothes!

Still, when nicer weather arrives, this will double as a great picnic tote--just toss in the placemats (with napkins and utensils hiding inside) and enough food for two!

So, that takes care of another couple projects for my Christmas class. And although my back's been feeling a little bit better each day, after sitting and sewing much of the day, I think it's time to go lay down and put some ice on it, while I read a good book. If I can wrestle the book away from Spike! (She thinks she's hiding!)